DD1 has been to childcare since she was 12 months and settled in well from the beginning. She demonstrated social skills very early but that could just be her. She went through phases of not wanting to go (especially when I was heavily pregnant and on maternity leave).
I have found the main benefits to be that they do things that I wouldn't think to do with her at home eg. some of the messy painting things and they do group activities which obviously you can't do with just one child. She has also developed trusting relationships with other adults and knows that there are other adults who care about her. She also has developed some really strong friendships - as have I, with the children's parents.
She has been pretty healthy and only caught a few things but then she also got the flu from DP who brought it home from work and gastro from me so the worst things haven't been from childcare.
Have you considered family day care? If you find a good one, I think its nice that they are smaller and more flexible.
Alot of cc's have minimum of 2 days.
My dd started childcare at almost 3 and she goes 2 days/week. There are family daycares here, but no vacancies.
I found the quality of childcare centres varied hugely from centre to centre, and I looked at many before I found one that I was really happy with, and had vacancies. It took a couple of months. I guess you could use a relative until you find one you love. Then your DS will be more used to being babysat when he starts.
Dd's childcare was good about orientation, and then for the first two weeks she only went half a day. After that she was right, and had no troubles sleeping at nap time. They stroke them on the back if they need it anyway. We took it slow, because another one i started her at was pretty horrible, they wouldn't let me stay, and dd cried alot and was pretty upset by it.
She is generally happy about going, although her room has a new group leader, and a new assistant, so she is still getting used to new faces. She loves the new assistant though. You could ask when you look how long the staff have been there for?
I am glad she's getting to be around other kids, because we don't have alot of friends with kids. I think that is a big advantage of cc when they are this age. I have a friend who used to get her mum to mind her daughter, but the mum used to sit her infront of dvds most of the time, so Im glad she's doing more than that at cc. They don't really do activities, just some craft and alot of free play. I don't think the new group leader really has that many activity ideas, because the other rooms seem to do heaps/
Disadvantages: I don't like the food they give them, and dd has started 'killing' everything. Well she calls it 'cool', but they will bring things like that home.
I do think it depends on your child's personality. I tried putting DS into daycare at 10 months and it was awful. He wouldn't sleep for them or eat for them and was very anxious and clingy for days afterward around me at home. I actually decided not to return to work because of his reaction to daycare, fortunately I was in a position to be able to do this.
He experienced childcare again at 18 months when he was participating in a language study for RCH. The first week he was perfect (much to my surprise), the second week not so much and by the third week he was crying hysterically before I turned the car off in the parking lot (confirming my original opinion that he still wasn't ready for childcare) so I completed the rest of the course with him on my lap (he was incredibly well behaved). The carers did say this was fairly common, once the initial novelty wears off, some kids realise Mummy is leaving again. Once again, it took him 2 or 3 days to get over just a couple of hours of childcare. Very anxious if I left the room, panicking if he didn't know where I was.
He will be 3 next week and I am going to try again next year, but this time I know within myself he is ready to be away from me for a bit and he wants to play with other kids. He just seems to need Mummy that bit more than most other kids. I was telling one daycare teacher about this and she said she herself had a little boy like that...it does happen.
I should also add that it has really only been in the last 6 months or so I have been able to leave the house without DS (say to go to the shops) and actually say goodbye to him (and him being okay with that), instead of sneaking out while DH or somebody distracted him. Before that, if he busted me leaving he would cry and insist on coming with me.
My best friend could never understand, I think she thought I pandered too much to DS because her DD took to daycare like a duck to water.
My DD on the other hand...she is now the same age as DS was when I first attempted daycare and she is so different to her brother...if I were to try putting her in daycare I am pretty sure she would be just fine.
Mind you I do think my DS is an exceptional case...but that's just the way he has always been...he just doesn't do anything the "normal" way! DD is very textbook.
I started using CC with DS when he was 20 months old and I decided I'd get more out of my course by going back on campus.
It is a very small centre (10 places each day for both baby and preschool room) and next year it will be slightly bigger as it moves to a new centre.
I took DS twice a week and he took a while to adjust to drop offs, and only a handful of times at the beginning was I called up to ask if I were in a position to pick him up to keep his experiences as positive as possible.
It's a great centre with access to best practice and a lot of research into child development, which most CC centres don't have. Most staff are qualified, also.
If you can find a place affiliated with the uni you might find this is a better option - you're close by, there will be other uni students using the facility and the cultural diversity is what I found so valuable with our centre. Now that I've got DS in the local community centre I lament the loss of that diversity (it's a bit mono-cultural where I am).
At 20 months when he started last year, he picked up on language and numeracy quite a bit, but really just learned to play alongside other kids, rather than with them till earlier this year when he moved from the baby room to the preschool room. So, for socialisation, I didn't find creche to play a huge role - he got and gets that from my own circles in my local ABA group, homebirth group and fire brigade friends.
This year drop offs were problem-free and he'd wave me goodbye, mostly, with some exceptions. At the new creche it's only one day a week and it's not often enough for him to really be used to being left, so drop-offs are more often than not a teary event. However, that said, he ALWAYS has a great day and the tears last for about 2 mins after I leave!
I did find it hard to concentrate at uni for ages in that first year of childcare, because I found myself thinking about DS, and why it had to be so hard to pursue my academic interests and be with my kid without one of those two aims suffering! I'm just not very good at compartmentalising, yet this is what you seem to have to do well if you are going to make a success of study So, I've been getting mediocre marks and having great days with DS when he's not at CC. Not ideal.
Next year will be a different kettle of fish when I get back to study - the new kid will be even younger going into care, but DS should be fine, as there's an embedded kinder program.
It's not easy, but if you find a great facility, it makes it soooo much easier to deal with what's on your plate
Good luck with study!
I have had mixed feelings about cc - I too feel really guilty about sending DD1, in part because she has been super clingy since about 20months and drop offs have been a nightmare. However she started 2 days a week at 9 months and was completely fine until that age. I went back to work fulltime when she was 2 - we had a combo of 3 days cc, 1 day mum or dad and 1 day grandparents and in hindsight this was too much for her.
The benefits have been huge related to her language and numeracy (not so great in the swearing/killing/guns/you are not my best friend department - however I guess this was always going to happen). Also toilet training and exposure to different songs/activities/food - it has opened her eyes and ours.
I also find it distracting and have trouble shutting off when at work but am getting better at it, well I was...I have been on ML with DD2 and am returning next week.
I work a long day so that also is a difficult thing for the kids - they get dropped off at 7.30am and picked up at 5.30pm, so that may be a consideration for you.
Overall the centre I have used has had fabulous staff who have treated my DD as extended family. They also do a wide range of craft activities that I have no chance of replicating. I could not speak more highly of them - I think it is really important to find somewhere that you are happy with and that will suit your needs. Good luck!
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So, I've been getting mediocre marks and having great days with DS when he's not at CC. Not ideal.
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